Feds won't deport arrested O.C. illegal immigrant

WASHINGTON Federal immigration officials will not be taking custody of Antonia Rivera of Santa Ana and her fellow illegal immigrants arrested on Capitol Hill Tuesday for demonstrating for a bill that would give her and others brought to the United States as children the chance to live here legally.

“None of them have been referred to ICE,’’ said Gillian Brigham, spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “Our focus is on smart immigration enforcement that focuses first on criminal aliens and people who post the greatest threat to the communities.’’

Rivera, 28, a graduate of UC Irvine, was arrested Tuesday along with 20 others. All were released by the end of the day Wednesday and will have to return to Washington next month for court appearances.

“It’s outrageous,’’ said Rep. Gary Miller, R-Diamond Bar. “How can you have a protest right in a U.S. senator’s office, admit you are here illegally in violation of the law and we pat you on the back and do nothing?’’

Rivera was arrested in the Hart Senate Office Building along with 11 others who sat in a circle in the atrium of the building wearing graduation caps and gowns. Capitol Police asked them to move and when they refused they were arrested. They were charged with disorderly conduct.

Juan Escalante, a spokesman for the arrested students, said they are actually disappointed that they haven’t been turned over to federal officials because it would make their actions dramatic.

They came to the nation’s capitol to try and persuade lawmakers to move on the DREAM Act. That measure that would give people brought here as children, who went through school here and went on to college or the military, a chance at legal status.

Opponents of the bill say it rewards illegal behavior and that immigration law must be adhered to.

“You’re rewarding those who have broken immigration laws,’’ Miller said. “Obviously she’s received an education much at the taxpayers’ expense. She should be grateful, not here protesting.

Brigham said that ICE doesn’t necessary take action against every illegal immigrant they learn about because of the need to spend resources wisely.

When someone is taken into ICE custody it cost money and manpower, she said, to detain them, hold immigration court proceedings and deport them.Rivera will return to her home in Santa Ana later this week but must return to Washington for a court appearance next month.

She said she is not afraid of being deported, even though she has virtually no family in Mexico, where she was born.

The point of her civil disobedience was to risk everything to raise the profile of the issue, she said.

“I am ready for whatever comes, even if it is being turned over to ICE,” said Rivera, who was brought here at age 6. “It’s just sad that we have to put ourselves through this so people will remember about our story.”

Jorge Gutierrez, a 26-year-old member of the Orange County DREAM Team, said they chose Feinstein, D-Calif., because she sits on the Judiciary Committee.

“Right now the DREAM Act sits in the Judiciary Committee and we need someone to champion it,” said Gutierrez, who along with eight others will be fasting and camping out the office for the next two weeks. “Sen. Feinstein is an important person because she has a lot of influence in Congress.”

But Feinstein’s staff pointed out that she is an original cosponsor of the DREAM Act and has been working forf its passage.

“This is a misguided and counterproductive strategy. Senator Feinstein has been a strong supporter of the DREAM Act since the beginning. So, it is unclear why they are targeting our offices, because they know she is supportive of the bill. These protesters need to think of the bigger picture and target their energy more productively, perhaps by focusing on leaders who oppose immigration reform,’’ said Feinstein spokesman Gil Duran.

Rivera and another demonstrator who were part of the atrium circle were detained longer because they did not have sufficient identification. They were released with the five who staged a sit-in at Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s office.

Those arrested were part of several hundred people who came to the Capitol this week to push for passage of the DREAM Act.

The larger group of demonstrators – including half a dozen from Orange County – held a news conference Wednesday outside the Capitol to highlight the actions of their fellow activists.

“Yesterday many of these young people took an unbelievable decision,” said Brent Wilkes, executive director of the League of United Latin American Citizens. “They’re extremely brave and they did it because they believe strongly in this cause.”

The four activists who remained in custody were reportedly “giving pushback” to the police in an effort to be handed over to federal officials, Escalante said. He argued that the fact they were not handed over shows how broken the immigration system is.

Rivera, who said she worked her way through college and paid for her plane ticket to Washington through fundraising, said she was treated well while in custody.

“It all happened so fast,” said Rivera, adding her family in California and Iowa know about the arrest. “When the police first arrived, I started to panic, but that was the scariest moment.”